The Week Just Past:

Yet Another Delay in the Affordable Care Act

Job and Wage Growth Still Stagnant

Happy Valentine’s Day to Our Vets

Celebrating President’s Day

Yet Another Delay in the Affordable Care Act

The announcement by the White House that yet another major element of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was being delayed is yet another astonishing admission by the Obama Administration that the Act is completely unworkable.  This is at least the 23^rd time White House has unilaterally delayed parts of his own health care law.

Although I am pleased that small businesses will be spared from the mandate for another year, at some point the Administration must realize that the ACA is a policy disaster.

The inability of the Administration to implement its most important priority suggests one of two things.  Either the law is so hopelessly complex that it is impossible to implement or the Administration is utterly incapable of carrying out its job.  Either way, it is just adds to the growing mountain of evidence that the ACA is bad public policy.

The Wall Street Journal weighed in on this latest action with an insightful editorial.

Job and Wage Growth Still Stagnant

The economy continues remains stuck in the doldrums, with just 113,000 new jobs being created last month, considerably below what most economists expected.

 If that’s not bad enough, last week the New York Times reported that wages are also stagnant:

Wages are stuck, and barely rose at all in 2013. They were up 1.9 percent last year, or a mere 0.4 percent after accounting for inflation. Not only was that increase even smaller than the one recorded in 2012, it was half the normal rate of wage gains in the two decades before the last recession.

For more than five years now, the President’s economic policies have failed to ignite strong economic growth.  It is time for the President to work with the Congress to reduce the disincentives that are keeping the economy from growing and create an environment that stimulates job and wage growth. 

For the complete Times article, click here.

Happy Valentine’s Day to Our Vets

For more than a decade, I have invited the schools across the 11^thCongressional District to create Valentine’s for Veterans at the East Orange and Lyons Veterans Administration health care facilities.

This year the response was again overwhelming – students from more than 40 elementary schools created thousands of cards to brighten the day of some of the men and women who have served so faithfully in our Armed Forces. 

I salute the teachers and students who responded to my request with such enthusiasm and originality.  They recognize that we owe our veterans an unending debt of gratitude.

To see some photos and read the list of participating schools, please visit my Facebook page.

And while you’re there, I hope you’ll “Like” the page.  That way you can follow some of what I’m up to, both in Washington and around the District.

Celebrating President’s Day

As America commemorates on Monday the 43 men who have served as president of the United States, I recommend this interesting and informative article from the American Legion Magazine about the four great presidents – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt – who are immortalized on Mount Rushmore.